Starting in July, Operation Kindness is launching a new Community Initiatives program to offer affordable and accessible veterinary services and other resources to community pets and their owners. Our lifesaving shelter remains at the heart of our mission, and now we’re expanding our impact to reach the people and pets that need us most.
Southern Dallas and rural areas in North Texas are in “veterinary deserts”. They lack access to veterinary services due to the absence of community clinics, high costs for services, and the inability to transport their pets outside of their area.
Our new team will be bringing services to underserved areas ensuring more pets can be happy, healthy and in their loving homes. We will also reduce pet overpopulation by increasing the number of spayed or neutered pets. And overall community health will improve by more pets being vaccinated.
Community services include affordable spay/neuter surgery, vaccines, microchips and general wellness.
“I’m very proud of the high-quality veterinary services we provide to the animals in our care. Now, this new program will allow us to take services to people in the community – meeting them where they are. Our goal is to assist 8,000 additional pets per year through community initiatives,” said Ed Jamison, CEO of Operation Kindness.
To get this program off the ground, we’re bringing in a team of experts, including a full-time veterinarian, support staff, and Meredith Jones as our new Chief Community Initiatives Officer.
Chief Community Initiatives Officer joins the team
Meredith Jones joins Operation Kindness with extensive leadership experience from several nationally renowned animal welfare organizations. She has fought passionately for equal access for underserved pets and their people during her career.
Previously, Meredith served as Senior Vice President of Advancement for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County. In her prior role as Vice President of Operations for the SPCA of Texas, Meredith led daily shelter and clinic operations. Her animal welfare experience also includes experience working with PetSmart Charities, PetFix Northeast Ohio, Pet Overpopulation Patrol, and BeyondFences. Read Meredith’s full bio.
As the Chief Community Initiatives Officer for Operation Kindness, Meredith will ensure that all community programs provide accessible, compassionate, and non-judgmental assistance.
“I’m honored to join the team at Operation Kindness to launch this new program. These services will strengthen the bond between pets and their owners, keep pets in their loving homes, and improve all animals’ health and quality of life in our priority communities,” said Meredith Jones, Chief Community Initiatives Officer at Operation Kindness.
Expanded community partnerships
Collaborations are a critical component of our new community initiatives. We will be enhancing our partnership with Spay Neuter Network to utilize their mobile unit to reach priority areas, including Southern Dallas (defined as south of I-30) and rural regions that lack access to veterinary care. When we work together, we can impact even more animals than we could alone.
“We are always excited to find innovative ways to work together with partners like Operation Kindness to help fill in service gaps. We know we can’t fix the pet overpopulation problem alone and sharing resources like our mobile unit will help increase spay and neuter accessibility across the metroplex and surrounding areas,” said Jordan Craig, Executive Director of Spay Neuter Network.
Find us in the community
Stay tuned for more information about where you can find us in the community. Community events will be added to our online calendar.
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